Duchess' brother death ruled an accident

The death of the Duchess of Cornwall's brother Mark Shand, who fell and banged his head outside a New York hotel bar, has been ruled an accident.

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office in New York said the 62-year-old's death was caused by blunt impact head trauma with skull fracture and bleeding in the brain.

Mr Shand was in New York for an auction at Sotheby's in aid of a charity for underprivileged children and the Elephant Family, of which he was chairman, which aims to save the endangered Asian elephant from extinction in the wild.

He was taken to hospital after reportedly slipping while lighting a cigarette and hitting his head on the pavement outside an after-party for the charity event.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have sent their condolences to Camilla.

William and Kate, who are coming to the end of their tour of Australia and New Zealand, passed on their sympathies to Camilla who was left "utterly devastated" by her brother's death.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were saddened to learn this morning of the tragic death of Mark Shand," Kensington Palace said.